Raoul, William Greene Letters (1862)

              [page 1]
July 30th 1862 

Dear Giff 

I would not have let so long 
a time elapse without writing to some of you, but 
some days ago, on the 23rd I believe Foss recd Pa's l
etter and he said he would write to me in a 
few days, so I thought I would wait a few days 
for it, & besides Bill & Foss both wrote & you 
would hear by them that I was well.  Pa's letter 
contained sad news for us all.  We had just heard 
that Poor Willie's leg was taken off but that he was 
doing well.  We were very sorry to hear of the 
loss of his leg but even that as bad as it was 
was much prefable to his death. 

As you will see I have 
dated this without putting any location, for I do not 
realy know whear I am.  I know that we are about 10 miles from Richmond. We are on Picket 
It's said we are on the extreme front but I do 
not believe that there is a yank within 10 miles 
of us We left Camp last Friday & expect to go 
back in a day or two as we will have been out a week to-
morrow.

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I wrote you a letter just before leaving Richmond for 
the Peninsulor but it seems that you never got it as 
you have never mentioned it.  At that time I recd 
one from you asked me how I spent my time 
in camp.  We had been runing about so much that 
our time was mostly spent on the march or in 
bivouacs. I will tell you how I have spent my time 
lately since we have ben in regular camp 
We have Reville at half past four.  Take break-
fast at about 8. Then we amuse our selves in 
various ways some times going for blackberres 
of which there is any quantity here. When I can 
get books I read a great deel but books are not 
very plentiful in camp.  Often there are details for 
cleaning up camp We often go bathing.  At 3. 
we have dinner at 7. another Roll call. At 9. 
another Roal call. There is all ways some thing to 
relieve the monotony It is not such a monotonous 
& lonesome life as I thought it would be. It this 
Picket duty that I get tired of. Some feign to 
like it better than camp but I dont believe it. 
By your last letter you seem to think that the 
war would not continue till the end of the year 
what do you think of it now?  What do you think 
now?  I did think so but now it is the last

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of July, time seems to fly by so swiftly and operations 
progress so slowly that I begin to doubt so speedy a 
termination. What a glorious defense Vixburg 
has made We heard yesterday that the whole Yan-
kee fleet had drawn off & left it, despairing of 
ever doing any thing with the noble little town 
Glorious Noble Vixburg! I wish that N.O. could 
have done the same. Evry one here thinks that 
Vandorn is directing his opperations against N.O. 
& that the City will be ours again before two 
months. If there is to be any fighting they have 
I wish we could be in it. I would like to 
get transferd to Vandorn's army. If I had staid 
home a little while longer I do not think I should 
have come to Va. There is too much to do neare 
home. You seem to be under the impression 
that in the fight with [Shields?] the Yanks crossed 
bayonets with our men. Alph told me that his 
men were wounded in charges and that the Yanks 
would never stand untill they reached them but 
would invariably run.  You say the Livingston Rifles 
had 90 men You are misstaken for they did not 
have 50 in the fight. They certainly sustained a heavy 
loss 

Will says I must tell you that he was in town 
the other day & say a throng of Yankee prisners three 
abreast and half a mile long. he says he never saw 
so many before in his life. And very probable he has not. 
He says tell Aleck that he has made inquire for his 
Brother & he learend that he is dead. He found several

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that knew him. He has seen many of Alecks friends 
that were very glad to hear from him. 

Will says that if Ma could see all the orchards & fruit 
that he has seen here & on the road that she would be 
discouraged in trying to raise it then at home. 
He forgets that this is Ma's nature state. 

Well Giff it is now late in the evening I left 
off writing this morning with the hope of getting some thing 
more to say. I have or rather Bill has just received 
your letter enclosing one to me from mollie & I also 
got one from Grandma which I asure you I 
was delighted to get altho they were writt before 
Will left home.  Letters from one always [acceptable?] 
be they ever so old. I was very glad to get Mollies 
& to hear that she got mine. Tell her that I will be 
sure to answer it. Grandma seems to regret very 
much that she cannot divide her strawberries with 
us & says she cannot half enjoy them. Tell Grandma she 
must philosophize in the matter What cant be, Cant be, 
If she cant get the strawberries to the sick soldiers she must 
eat them & enjoy them herself. I take evry thing easy except 
[occasionaly?] I get a little home sick. It is true sometimes 
I dine on a cracker & piece of pork & even on 
a cracker without the pork, but then you have no 
idea how I relish it.  I refrain from writing about 
what we sometimes have to do on in the way of eating for 
what I would call doing very well you would think it 
was pretty hard times. It is not always so for sometimes 
we feast. The other day we bought a quarter mutton at 25 cts 
pr pound which is very cheap, & we bought 10 or 12 lb Rice 
which I find to be the cheapest thing in R. it sels at 12 1/2 cts 
that is dear to what we used to get it at home

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but it is cheap here it goes farther than 
any thing else we can buy & to me it is 
the best. I have had rice as a delicacy evry 
day for a week. Well Its almost dark & I will 
finish this in the morning before I send it in.  

July 31st 

I see it is published that an exchange 
of prisners is agreed upon & terms stated 
They say a Maj Gen. should be valued at 40 
privates. I wonder if either side will be willing 
to give a Maj. Gen. for 40 privates. I think 
that is estimating them rather low. I suppose 
you get the news regularly from Jackson.  
We hear now that the yanks are threatning camp there, that they are within 3 miles of it.  I suppose 
if that is so you are within the yankee lines though 
I do not much believe it.  If it is so I think 
Vandorn will drive them back in a short time 
& they will not have long to enjoy the Piney Woods If it is true I do not know where or 
how you will ever get this letter, but I will write 
it any how for I thought the same when I wrote 
to Pa on the 5th but it seems he did get it & quite 
soon too. I was glad to hear that Mrs Tucker heard from Alph by my litter. The letter Pa wrote to 
Foss came through in six days. I wish they could all 
come so straight as that. I guess if the mail 
does not run down as far as Independence you will

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by some means or another to send to whear it does 
stop.  Well Giff it is comensing to rain & as I be-
leive I have exhausted my stock of ideas 
I had as well close & creep in to my little 
shanty made of yankey tents & keep out of the rain 
Give my love to all [Anden?] & [Ameridus?] folks & all
Tell Grandma that I will answer her letter from camp 
if we get back there shortly 


Be sure to remember me to Miss Sallie for she 
thinks that I have forgotten her 

Giff I wish you could be here about a month 
just to give you an idea what the move ment of an 
army is while at home you can form no idea of how 
things are managed, at least I never had 

With love to all I remain your affectionate Brother 
W. G. Raoul